diet - health - nutrition

Garrison Body Forum

Login

Exercise

How Much Exercise Do I Need?

A body fat chart is a great tool for more than just an indication of your health and nutrition status. However, a body fat chart won't tell you how to measure yourself in order to use the body fat chart. Body fat is the single most important bit of information you need in order to attain the best physical condition for your age. Armed with your true body fat you will know how to exercise properly in order to succeed in your goals - whatever they may be to you.

Let's be clear and honest. You are not trying to lose "weight". You want to lose body fat. Unless you are clear in your goal your success is destined to fail. The reason body fat is such a priority is because if you do not know how to burn body fat you will be burning muscle - the muscle you want to keep in order to look great.

What Kind of Exercise for Me?

The answer to this is specific to your desires, needs and abilities. For the average person you may want to start out with some walking, or perhaps combine the walking with some exercises you can do at home. This type of routine will burn fat.

If you are trying to build muscle or strength you will have to use weights because you can NOT build muscle mass or strength without heavy resistance. The specific amount of resistance you need is dependent upon your capabilities. Don't let any media or person fool you into believing that you can increase the size of your muscles or increase your strength simply by eating differently and doing "Jumping Jacks", toe touching, push-ups or sit-ups. And, now that this has been mentioned, SIT-UPS DO NOT WORK! In fact, they can cause back problems. A "crunch" is far more effective and safer. Only the military insists on using the sit-up as a tool to assess physical endurance.

bicycling - begin with 20 minutes at a leisurely pace and build to 40 minutes by adding 10 minutes every 2 weeks.

crunches (lying on your back, knees up, lift your torso half way to your knees - do not pull behind your head - if you are only able to get your shoulders off the floor, that's a great start - eventually, you will be able to get higher from the floor)

lunge or walking lunge (From a standing position, place one foot out in front of you and touch the other knee to the floor, return to the initial standing position. This can be done in place alternating your feet, or, bring the back foot up to meet the one you placed out in front as you stand up. Repeat with the opposite foot.)

With the walking or bicycling you can continue to keep the pace easy, but once you have reached 40 minutes for 2 weeks you'll need to change something in order to continue to achieve additional results. Otherwise, your body will remain in basically the condition you find yourself after reaching the 40 minute period. Going beyond that is where you will need Garrison Body to write a plan for you.

I Want Help

Garrison Body can help you through your routine, or, write you a plan for whatever goals you have. Whether you are just beginning and need to go light, slow, and learn how to eat better and exercise for better health, or are a seasoned athlete who wants to build muscle, strength or simply learn how to lift better, Garrison Body can write you a plan that fits your needs.

What is Your Heart Rate?

What does "heart rate" have to do with exercise or losing fat?

EVERYTHING!

If you don't know your heart rate, how can you effectively proceed with your exercise routine expecting results? If your heart rate is too high, you won't burn fat. If your heart rate is too low, you won't burn enough calories. The answer, then, is to first know what you want to accomplish. Then, you need to know the best heart rate for that particular activity to achieve optimum results.

For burning fat your heart rate should be no higher than 65% of your maximum heart rate. To calculate what that means for you, use our heart rate calculator